Just days before the April deadline set by the Cambodian government to "eliminate" fraud dens, fraud bosses are starting to drift to neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Thailand - SCMP reported.
Outside the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Abdul (20 years old) and Hafiz (19 years old) huddled on plastic tarpaulins, empty-handed and without papers. They are two of dozens of victims abandoned after working in fraud dens for months.
“The Chinese boss kept all the passports, didn't pay our salaries and pushed us to the streets” - Abdul said. Hafiz continued: “Some work for 1 month, some for 1 year, but no one brings a penny home”.
Under pressure from the US and China, the Cambodian government announced that it would sweep away fraud lines before April. However, the actual scale makes this goal considered too ambitious. It is estimated that the online fraud network in Cambodia can generate up to 19 billion USD per year - equivalent to more than half of the country's formal economy.
Scammer groups" are mushrooming, attracting about 100,000 participants, many of whom are victims of seduction or human trafficking. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, this is no longer just cybercrime but an organized crime ecosystem, combining human trafficking, money laundering and corruption.
Before the wave of raids, gangs did not disappear but only changed their locations. Many subjects were arrested when crossing the border into Thailand, others continued to move deep into remote areas such as in Myanmar to re-establish operations.
In the Thailand - Myanmar border area, especially around the hotspot of Ba Chua Pass, new "fraudulent towns" are forming. These are becoming shelters for defectors, ready to return to the cycle of illegal money-making.
Experts believe that this is a familiar rule: The tighter it is, the more dispersed the crime becomes. From large complex areas, they switch to small-scale activities in apartments and villas, which are more difficult to detect.
The wheel of fraud has never stopped" - an expert from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime assessed.
Previously, Myanmar launched a massive campaign to crack down on fraud centers in the Myawaddy area, but the effectiveness did not last long. Facilities quickly resumed operations or moved to new areas, showing the terrifying adaptability of this industry.
Meanwhile, Cambodia faces a difficult problem: Distinguishing who is a criminal, who is a victim. Many people arrested are actually forced laborers, beaten when they do not meet "fraudulent targets". The process of verification and deportation lasts for months, exceeding the capacity of functional forces.
In many cases, the bosses are warned in advance to escape in time, while the arrested are mainly victims. The bosses live in a private, luxurious world, completely isolated from local people.
As the deadline approaches, a reality is becoming increasingly clear: the crackdown campaign may shake fraud centers, but it is difficult to completely eradicate them. Instead, the wave of crime is silently spreading throughout the region.
